Guest Blog: Vote Yes on 2Q and 2R
Improve the Quality of Life for People in the Denver Metro Area
Guest blog: Naomi Amaha is the director of policy and government affairs, The Denver Foundation, and Alison Friedman Phillips is the director of programs, policy, & advocacy, The Women’s Foundation of Colorado.
With only slight tax increases, voting yes on 2Q and 2R will have an outsized impact on Denver
This year Denver voters will have twelve (yes, twelve!) local ballot measures to review. Affordability continues to be a top concern for Denverites – especially as it relates to health care and housing. You have an opportunity to address that in Denver through your ballot by voting yes on 2Q and 2R. At The Denver Foundation and The Women’s Foundation of Colorado we believe that passing these two measures will improve the quality of life of our metro area and allow for more people to thrive. Everyone should have access to health care and housing.
It might seem counterintuitive that voting for a sales tax increase would make things more affordable but with only slight increases – 2Q is an increase of 3.4 cents on $10 purchase and 2R is a 5-cent increase on a $10 purchase – the total revenue will have an outsized impact on the City and County of Denver.
2Q – Healing Denver – supports Denver Health and Hospital Authority
If you’ve spent time in Denver, chances are that you have visited a Denver Health facility or someone you know has. Denver Health’s providers saw more than 1.2 million patients in 2022. Denver Health provides services such as primary care, behavioral health, or dental care – regardless of one’s ability to pay. Its patient population has grown 550% due to factors like an increased population, rising health care costs, and the increased value of its 8200 health care workers.
If passed, this measure would gather $70 million/year to support Denver Health and Hospital Authority. Funding will go directly to Denver Health’s operating budget and will help ensure the organization has funding to provide care to any individual and continue to serve as the region’s safety net health care system.
2R – Affordable Denver – Creates more affordable housing
It’s hard to walk through Denver without seeing the need for more affordable housing. In an annual poll to hear the perspectives of 2,000 adults from across the state, The Colorado Health Foundation found that 89% say the cost of housing is a serious or very serious problem.
Different strategies are needed to address the housing needs of individuals and families based on how much money they make and other unique factors that impact their lives. If passed, this measure would gather $100 million/year to support an affordable housing fund to develop, acquire and preserve affordable housing in Denver. Funding will go toward addressing the housing needs of renters with a quarter of the population in Metro Denver paying half their income in rent, and those who want to be first-time homeowners, which is becoming out of reach for most: In 2024, according to Zillow, homebuyers need to make $173,000 to afford a home in Denver.
Strategies to address housing needs will be identified through a process where community members can give feedback before the City Council approves a spending plan.
Both measures were proposed to voters to fill a necessary funding need
Both The Denver Foundation and The Women’s Foundation of Colorado hope you’ll vote yes on Denver 2Q and 2R! You can learn more about the ballot measure campaigns and our ballot guides – which include our reasoning for supporting these measures – below. Please vote by 7 pm on Tuesday, November 5th.
- Learn more about 2Q at Healing Denver
- Learn more about 2R at Affordable Denver
- The Women’s Foundation of Colorado ballot guide, The Womanifesto
Naomi Amaha leads the The Denver Foundation’s execution of its policy framework. For nearly 100 years, people in Metro Denver and across Colorado have trusted The Denver Foundation to steward charitable funds to meet today’s needs and tomorrow’s opportunities.
In partnership with generous donors and community partners, The Denver Foundation leads a community-wide effort to build a better future for everyone.
Alison Friedman Phillips manages the policy and advocacy work of The Women’s Foundation, Colorado’s only statewide, community-funded foundation protecting the progress and advancing gender, racial, and economic equity for all Colorado women.
